JOHNSONVILLE SIZZLING SAUSAGE GRILL Johnsonville BTG0498 Sizzling Sausage Grill, OSFA, Black/Stainless

product appears to be well built and designed easy to operate cooks brats perfectly no guessing

This grill works fantastically for its given purpose—painlessly cooking up to 5 sausages at a time, getting the job done in 15 minutes. And it doesn’t heat up the house the way cooking sausages in the oven would do. I’ve used it at least weekly since I got it and just love the convenience, as well as the fact that it tells me when the sausages have been cooked to a safe temperature. In addition to being painless to use (put the sausages in, turn the grill on and wait for it to beep four times), the fact that I don’t have to worry about turning the sausages or figuring out if they are done yet enables me to cook the rest of the meal while the sausages are doing their thing.And YES, it works with any sausage that is about the same size as a Johnsonville brat. I’ve cooked both Johnsonville brats and Italian sausages on it as well as the local preservative-free sausages. All came out done perfectly.One quick note is that the first grill I got had a bottom griddle that did not snap in place properly. I contacted Johnsonville and they were very helpful. They were glad to replace the grill for me but advised me that the turnaround would be lots quicker if I simply returned it to Amazon—which I did; I got the replacement two days later and it was perfect.Addendum after 4 months use: I’ve been using this grill at least weekly for the four months since I got it and I’m still in love with it. I tend to make sweet Italian sausages for a number dishes, ranging from sausage and onion subs to spaghetti with sausages to sausages with lemon/lime juice and mashed potatoes (think Italian bangers and mash). The best part of this grill is that I can cook the remainder of the dish, potatoes, grilled onions, spaghetti while the sausages cook on auto-pilot, not having to worry about turning the sausages, measuring internal temperature, or even looking to see if they are done. Just wait for the beep.A couple of quick tips:First, I tend to leave my sausages (usually sweet Italian sausage) in the grill with the lid still clamped shut for about two minutes after the beep to make sure they are fully cooked. This probably is not necessary but I like my sausages on the well-done side.Second, today I tried to move the grill slightly on the counter while it was still cooking and found that the sides near where the grill plates are located were quite hot—which surprised me. Not a big deal for me, but people with children might want to make sure they don’t allow kids to grab the grill on the side when it might be hot.

When this cooker arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find it very well packaged for shipment, and constructed to an unexpectedly very high degree of quality, being larger, heavier, and more robust than I expected it would be. It cooks the meat very well. Overall, I'm very pleased with this machine. However, there are a couple things I didn't expect. First: the instructions say that when the machine is done cooking, it will beep several times (which happens about 7 to 10 minutes after you start the machine). This beeping lets you know that the heating elements are no longer on. Then later, when the machine is ready to be opened, the instructions say that a bell will ding. My machine never dinged, because it turns out that my machine doesn't have a bell that dings, so I had to learn by trial and error when to open the machine. I figured that 7 to 10 minutes of cooking wouldn't be enough (I don't know why I figured that, but I did). So I thought that if I left the meat in the machine after it beeped, it would continue cooking more while I waited for the ding, which it probably does, being that the cooking surfaces are still very hot. So the first time I cooked with it, it beeped like it should to let me know it was done heating, then I waited for the ding, which never came... I waited for 23 minutes from the time I first started the machine.. The machine never dinged, so I finally opened it at 23 minutes, and the meat looked fine, but when I ate it, I found the meat to be still warm, but a little bit too cool in my mouth. The second time I cooked with it, I set a kitchen timer to ring 18 minutes after I started the machine, and I found that the meat came out at the perfect temperature for eating when I took a bite... not too hot, not to cold... Goldilocks perfect at 18 minutes! Second: The grease trap pan works perfectly, but it is held in place by friction-fit with a bit too much friction, so it can slop around a bit when you first begin to try and slide it out. I've learned to remove it slowly and cleanly by sticking both thumbs down through the carrying handle of the machine and using both thumbs to gently begin sliding the grease tray back out of the machine until the friction-fit has been overcome enough to allow the grease tray to slide out smoothly (hence cleanly). Then I just dump the grease into any empty can (instead of clogging my pipes by pouring the grease down the drain) and place the can in the freezer to solidify the grease quickly before I throw the can of grease in the trash. (The machine's grease tray fills about halfway with grease). Both of these issues are no problem at all for me and were quickly mastered during my learning period with this machine. As for cleanup? Extremely easy! Once the machine cools, there are two buttons on the machine's right side... one for the top cooking surface, and one for the bottom. Press them in and the cooking surfaces unlock and are easily removed. Just wash them like you normally wash your dishes. This was a very nice surprise for me to see just how easy this machine is to clean. I've always loved Johnsonville bratwurst, but living in a cold winter state, grilling them outdoors was too much hassle in the winter. With this machine, I can eat them all year round now! YUM! I waited until I saw this machine on sale on Amazon for seventy nine ninety nine, used a fifty dollar bonus I got for applying for an Amazon credit card, and using cash back earned from that credit card, was able to purchase this machine for seventeen dollars and some change... the best 17 dollars I ever spent! I'd give this machine 10 stars if I could... it's just that well made and easy to use and clean. No smoke, no fires, no unexpected negative surprises at all during the cooking process, just the wonderful aroma of cooking brats. Go for it, people! You'll be glad you did.